


Where Lies Lead

by ssa_archivist



Category: Smallville
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, M/M, Romance, episode-related
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-04-17
Updated: 2003-04-17
Packaged: 2017-11-01 08:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/354388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssa_archivist/pseuds/ssa_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My version of Lex's first willing step on the path to evil and how he got the meteor-rock ring.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where Lies Lead

## Where Lies Lead

by Wiccan Moonlight Faery

[]()

* * *

" _A_ _kiss_ _is_ _a_ _lovely_ _trick_ _designed_ _by_ _nature_ _to_ _stop_ _speech_ _when_ _words_ _become_ _superfluous_." 

* 

Lex leaned over the pool table to line up his shot, his blue-gray eyes focused intently on the solid colored ball near the corner pocket. Slowly, he pulled back his cue stick and hit it against the cue ball. It bounced softly off the opposite wall, right into the ball he had been aiming for, sending it neatly rolling into the corner pocket. 

Lex smiled smugly to himself and straightened, looking into the lovely green eyes of the raven-haired teen standing on the other side of the table. "You know, I think that having a pool table in your house all your life gives you an unfair advantage," Clark said, pretending to be hurt by Lex's last shot. "It's like cheating." 

"You're only saying that because you're losing," Lex answered, motioning to all Clark's double colored balls that were still lying upon the green felt, as opposed to the three solid colored balls left. Clark stuck out his lower lip, but Lex ignored it, moving around to the other side of the table to line up his next shot. He hit another of the balls in. 

"They shouldn't have made the rule where you get to hit again if you get one of your balls in," Clark complained. 

"Do you think that you would be able to win if you had more of a chance to play?" Lex questioned, hitting another ball in easily. His tone was teasing, since they both knew that Clark was a pretty good pool player. Lex was just better, seeing as he had a lot of time to practice and a pool table almost always handy to do so. 

Clark sighed dramatically as he watched the ball fall into the pocket. "Not against you," he admitted, seeing that Lex only had one ball left to hit in. "I should have learned by now that you should never compete at anything with a Luthor. It's a losing battle." 

"Learning to be a good loser makes you a better person, Clark. It teaches discipline, and work ethic." Lex met Clark's eyes from his position, still bent over the pool table. He was always looking up at Clark, but this was ridiculous. He stood up again. 

"You sound like my father," Clark said as Lex took a few of his graceful steps to the right to prepare for his next shot. 

Lex's brow furrowed slightly. "I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. Either way, if that's what your father sounds like, then he's right." 

Clark smiled. "It's a compliment, believe me. It would only be an insult if I aid you sounded like _your_ father." 

The corners of Lex's mouth turned up slightly, though it did not appear to be a happy smile. But after a second, he turned his attention back to the pool table and spotted a clear shot to his last remaining ball. The cue ball quickly sailed toward it, knocking it into the middle pocket. 

"That's funny," Lex said as he stood up again, eyeing the eight ball, though he didn't sound as if he thought it was funny at all, "because some people seem to think that I sound an awful lot like my father. In fact, they think that I am just a little Lionel Luthor, here to carry out his bidding on behalf of Satan." Lex's tone was only half-joking. 

Clark could not think of a response to that right away. Lex had already knocked the eight ball into the pocket before Clark spoke. 

"Yeah, well some people also think that the crop circle that appeared in the Gainer's cornfield last year was the work of aliens," Clark pointed out. "Does that make it the truth?" 

"You have a valid point, Clark," Lex said, gathering up both his cue and Clark's and placing them in the holder on the wall. "But don't be so quick to discount the possibility. You never know what's really out there." 

Clark looked down at his feet for a minute, suddenly feeling awkward in this conversation. He hadn't meant to draw the conversation in this direction. But after a second, he got the courage to look up and speak again. 

"Are you saying that you believe in little green men?" Clark asked dubiously, unwilling to think that Lex Luthor would believe in anything that was not right in front of him. Lex was not the type of person to believe anything on blind faith. In fact, Clark sometimes doubted that he had faith in anything. 

"I don't _not_ believe," Lex replied vaguely. "Anything is possible." 

"Yeah, I guess." 

Lex eyed Clark curiously. "Is something wrong, Clark?" 

Clark shook his head immediately. "No. Why would anything be wrong?" he questioned quickly, nervously. 

"I don't know. That's why I was asking," Lex answered truthfully, moving around the pool table to stand closer to Clark. "You just seemed...uncomfortable. I would hate to think that you would have any reason to feel uncomfortable around me." 

"Of course not, Lex." 

Lex did not look fully convinced. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Because if you were feeling uncomfortable about what happened - " 

Clark cut him off quickly. "No way, Lex," he insisted, moving toward Lex so that their bodies were just inches apart. " _That_ would never make me uncomfortable. It was something that I wanted too, remember?" 

Lex looked extremely relieved. 

"Even if you _do_ cheat at pool," Clark added. 

"I do _not_ ch - " Lex started. 

But he was unable to finish because at that precise moment, Clark's mouth was on his. Clark's tongue pressed against Lex's lips, urging them to part, and slid inside. Their tongues tangled in a desperate kiss. Lex became aware that Clark had his body pinned backwards into the side of the pool table, but it was only a second before the thought flew out of his mind. 

After a minute, Clark pulled away and moved to the nape of Lex's neck, placing a gentle nip there as Lex fought to catch his breath. The touch of Clark's tongue to his skin made him catch his breath again, and Lex realized that he was fighting a losing battle. Then, Clark moved his head up to whisper in Lex's ear. 

"This could never make me feel uncomfortable," Clark said softly. "It makes me feel a lot of things, but none of them uncomfortable. Don't ever think that." 

Lex nodded, words suddenly failing him as he felt Clark's tongue on his earlobe, down his neck, finding every patch of sensitive skin and licking and kissing and biting...little touches that were so wet, then so rough, then so soft, and just so _good_. Lex made the tiniest little moan in the back of his throat as Clark sucked lightly on his Adam's apple, the harder. 

Clark's hand was just moving to the top button of Lex's shirt when they were interrupted by a large bang. Startled, the two flew apart, as if they had suddenly become negative sides of a magnet, using the force to repel each other. The bang had been made by the door to the room flying open, hard enough to hit against the wall next to it. 

Lex was afraid to look to see whoever was at the door. What if it was his father who, though blind, would probably still realize what was going on? Or worse, what if it was Clark's mother, playing good little Luthor assistant? Or what is it was... 

_Lana_. Lana was standing in the doorway, positively fuming. 

* * *

" _The_ _only_ _thing_ _that_ _lies_ _can_ _lead_ _to_ _is_ _more_ _lies_." 

* 

"Lana?" Clark choked out nervously. "What are you..." 

But before he could finish, Lana strode angrily into the center of the room. Suddenly, she produced a hidden box, seemingly out of thin air, and dropped it heavily onto the pool table. All three occupants of the room stared at the box, which Lana was clearly trying to draw the attention of the two boys toward. 

Upon closer inspection, Clark noticed that it was the ornately decorated lead box that Lex had given him months before to hold Lana's necklace in. Which meant that the contents of the box were probably still the same as when Lex had handed it to him. 

Clark and Lex exchanged a curious glance, wondering what Lana had seen of them upon entering the room. She didn't let on that she had seen anything. 

"All of Whitney's stuff was sent back to his mom because he's...he's missing in action," Lana started. The other two occupants of the room looked confused. Neither of them appeared to know what that had to do with them, if anything. And still, Lana hadn't given any indication of what she had seen. 

But she went on talking about the same topic, as if she had seen nothing. "And I got to thinking. About you, Clark." 

"Really?" Clark asked nervously. "What about me?" 

"About how before last year, you used to be really klutzy around me. And how you so often looked sick. And I thought of how much all that has changed in the last few months." 

Lex exhaled in annoyance, looking at the girl in an exasperated sort of way. "If there is some sort of point to anything you're saying, Lana, I invite you to make it known to the rest of us," he said sardonically. Clark smiled slightly, not surprised that Lex was irritable. He had been the same way when they had been interrupted by anything in the past, though it had usually been by a phone call until then. 

Lana glared at him. "The point is, Clark, that all this got me thinking of your many secrets. All of your secrets and the lies you tell to cover them up. And I remembered that you were the one that was encouraging me to stop clinging onto my parents' memory. At the time, I thought that you were trying to help me, but what was the real reason, Clark? Was it because you _wanted_ me to take off my necklace?" 

"Th-that's ridiculous, Lana," Clark stammered, becoming increasingly uneasy with each word coming out of Lana`s mouth. "Why would I want you to take off your necklace?" 

"I realized that things only became really comfortable between us _after_ I stopped wearing my necklace. I think that's the reason that you were always so sick around me. I think it's the meteor rock." 

Clark shifted nervously. He had underestimated Lana's knowledge. He was scared. 

"So, are you going to admit that I'm right?" Lana demanded. "Or am I going to have to prove it?" 

Clark looked around, as if hoping that the answer for how to get out of this was on one of the walls. Lana looked so sure that she was right. How could he convince her that it wasn't true? 

And the look in Lex's eyes said clearly that he felt betrayed. He looked like he was beginning to believe Lana. Clark believed that he was all alone in this, and he would have to fend of both of his friends. 

But in his moment of indecision, Lana made up her mind for him. She opened the lid of the lead box, and Clark suddenly felt the full force of the meteor rock on him. He gasped slightly as a blinding pain began to fill his body. Lex's eyes flicked quickly from his hands, where Clark was sure his veins were bulging and green, to his face. Clark swallowed hard, trying to fight off the ill feeling in his body, not completely from the meteor rock. 

Seeing how sick Clark started looking, Lana looked pleased that she had proved her point. 

Suddenly, Lex's voice came from Lana's other side, calm and commanding. "Lana, close the box," he ordered coolly. She looked for a second as if she was going to disobey, but there was an evil glint somewhere in the back of Lex's gaze. Startled, Lana closed the box quickly, but still was able to protest. 

"Don't you understand, Lex? Clark was lying. To both of us." 

Clark met Lex's gaze desperately, a pleading in his eyes. Lex's eyes were still cold and dead, but he held Clark's look for just a second, and maybe it was Clark's imagination, but he was almost sure that Lex nodded slightly in understanding. Clark dropped his gaze again, guiltily. 

"This doesn't make him a liar, Lana," Lex said, his voice still calm. Clark's head snapped up in surprise to look at his friend. Seconds ago, Clark had been sure that Lex had jumped on the bandwagon with Lana. Lex had known for a long time that he had secrets, and he wanted to know the truth more than anyone. Surely he wasn't naive enough to believe that Lana was _wrong_? Not after all she had just revealed? 

"What are you talking about?" Lana demanded, also seeming surprised by Lex's response. 

"He probably didn't know that it had anything to do with the meteor rock," Lex reasoned, though he didn't appear as if he believed a word that he was saying. 

"Even if he didn't, this could explain how he's able to do all the things he does. You must know that there's something different about him Lex," Lana pressed. 

There was a moment's pause before Lex spoke again, as if he was trying to come to a decision. Clark prayed that Lex's choice would be in his favor, but he doubted it. "Not necessarily," he said, surprising everyone further. "There are hundreds of documented cases of people being affected strangely by certain minerals. It has yet to be explained by science, but it is proven that they can have an effect on certain completely normal individuals." 

Lana looked back and forth between the two of them, her gaze beginning to soften. It was clear that she had never heard this information before, but it seemed to change her mind about her assumptions. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. 

"No need," Lex dismissed. "You're just worried about the quar - Whitney and it's making you irrational. It's completely understandable. Once you get home, you'll realize how crazy this all sounds." 

"You're probably right," Lana agreed, looking embarrassed. Obviously feeling uncomfortable, she excused herself and shuffled out of the room. 

Once Clark and Lex were alone once again, Clark spoke. "Thanks, Lex. I didn't know that thing about people's reactions to minerals and stuff." 

Lex looked at him, the coldness in his gaze making Clark feel as if the temperature had dropped below freezing. "That's because I made it up," Lex said, his voice flat and emotionless. "You want to tell me the _truth_ about the meteor rocks?" 

Clark looked around awkwardly. He felt as if he was trapped between a rock and a hard place. "There's nothing to tell," Clark insisted. 

"You really expect me to believe that? I'm not quite as gullible as Lana, you know. Give me some credit." 

"Lex, I swear, there's nothing - " 

Lex cut him off. "Never lie to a Luthor, Clark. From lots of practice, we can see right through it," Lex said, sounding hurt. "Next time, I'm not going to lie for you." 

Lex turned his back to Clark and walked toward the desk, signaling the end of the conversation. "Lex..." Clark pleaded, thinking about how good things had been before Lana had to come in and wreck everything. 

"I believe that you know the way out," Lex said, ignoring him. 

* * *

" _When_ _the_ _only_ _weapon_ _you_ _have_ _is_ _a_ _hammer_ , _everything_ _looks_ _like_ _a_ _nail_." 

* 

Lex listened to Clark's receding footsteps, quietly contemplating all that he had just heard. Upon hearing the front door open and shut, he turned around again. After only a second, Lex spotted something sitting on the pool table. 

It was the lead box. It seemed that Lana had forgotten to bring her necklace along when she had left. 

Slowly, Lex walked back over to the pool table, where just minutes ago he and Clark had been sharing a friendly game and so much more than that. Having Clark's lips on his own, his tongue to his skin, had made it so easy to forget all of Clark's lies, his avoidance of all the hard questions. But in the empty room, it all came rushing back. 

Lex was not sure what he felt for the younger man, but he _did_ know how much he kept from Clark as well. He did not deny it, nor was he a hypocrite. But what Clark was doing was different. Lex very rarely lied to Clark's face; just kept things that he knew would do nothing but hurt Clark away from his knowledge. Clark was lying right into the face of confrontation, even when any person with moderate intelligence could detect his lies. 

Lex reached the pool table and eyed the box intently. Just minutes ago, when Lana had opened the box, Clark _had_ started looking sick. Lana had been right about everything, as had he when he had been suspicious of his best friend. He had been right with all of his investigations into Clark and his disbelief of the boy's constant excuses about all the coincidences that happened around him. 

But why did the meteor rocks affect Clark like that? None of the coincidences seemed to fully explain that fact. What was he? Was he another of the very strange _things_ that seemed to infest the tiny town of Smallville? Or was he the one responsible for all the strangeness after the meteor shower? 

That made another horrible thought hit Lex. If Clark was in any way connected to the meteors, which it was looking very distinctly like he was, would that make him responsible for the hell Lex himself had had to go though because of the meteor shower? Was Clark the one responsible for his complete loss of hair? Had he gone though years of torture and ridicule because of his _best_ _friend_? 

Lex shook the thought away. It was too painful and complicated to think of just then. 

Finally, Lex opened the box with the offending item inside. He delicately pulled Lana's necklace from its resting-place inside the box. Lex let the rock fall, holding the necklace only by the chain, thinking intensely as he looked into the depths of the green gem. He had always given the meteor rocks an extraordinary amount of attention, for he had always suspected that there was something special about them, but he had never looked upon one as he did at that very moment. 

After a minute, he placed the meteor rock in his flat palm, turning it back and forth slightly to watch how the light played off the many facets of the carefully cut rock. It sent little green shimmers off his palm. 

And suddenly, Lex _knew_. Knew why he had come upon this knowledge. Knew what he had to do. 

Lex focused his gaze again on the green gem, a cruel smile creeping onto his face. He would have no way to benefit from this knowledge at the present time, but it could be... _useful_ one day. One could never be too safe, especially if one knew the power that Clark must have, and the power that these rocks could have over him. And if Clark had been lying about this, who knew what else he had lied about? 

Who knew what else he was capable of? 

No, this wasn't betrayal. Clark had built a relationship with Lex that was built on trust, and he had just broken it, had just refused to tell Lex the truth when asked directly. What Clark was doing, _that_ was betrayal. This was just...extra insurance, in case anything unexpected was to happen. 

This was _control_ , which was something Lex cherished very much. 

Lex closed his fingers around the meteor rock, still smiling into the empty room. 

* * *

" _Do_ _not_ _be_ _angry_ _with_ _a_ _friend_ _who_ _revealed_ _your_ _secret_ , _for_ _neither_ _could_ _you_ _keep_ _it_ _to_ _yourself_." 

* 

"So wait," Pete commanded, sounding extremely confused, "does this mean that Lana knows that you're a - that you're a - " 

Clark shook his head, saving Pete from endless stuttering. "No. Lex was able to convince her that everything she was saying could be logically explained and that she was only acting irrational and jumping to conclusions because she was worried about Whitney." 

"She actually believed that?" Pete asked, amused. 

"Isn't it easier to believe than `Clark is an alien who came down in his little spaceship during the meteor shower, so the meteor rocks make him sick'?" Clark questioned. 

"Well I believed it." 

Clark sighed. "Yeah, well you had much more compelling evidence. All she had was a weird suspicion." Another, deeper sigh. "Plus, you never had Lex tell you otherwise. He can be a very convincing liar." 

"Well with all the practice that he gets," Pete mumbled under his breath. But after a second, his eyes widened to at least twice their normal size as he realized the implications of what Clark had just said. "Does _Lex_ know your secret?" 

Clark turned his back to his friend and rested his arms on the wooden railing of his loft, facing the door into the barn. "I don't know what Lex knows," Clark admitted quietly. "I know that he knows that I'm lying about something. And he seems to realize that Lana was doing more than just jumping to conclusions, but I'm not sure how much he's put together. But I don't think he trusts me anymore," Clark finished, his eyes downcast. 

"If anyone deserves to not be trusted, it's Lex," Pete said firmly, angrily. "I know that you try to see the good in everyone Clark, but I don't see how you find any good in _Lex_ _Luthor_. How hard did you have to search to find any good in him? 

"And Lana? How can you not be mad at her for what she did? I mean, she could have come and talked to you first instead of yelling at you in front of Lex." 

"That's not fair," Clark said, shooting Pete a look. "Lana is a good person. She isn't to blame for anything. Neither is Lex. But even good people make mistakes, Lex and Lana included. That doesn't make them any less good, but if people like you keep making Lex out to be evil, then that's what he'll become. My God, when are you going to drop this grudge against him? What has Lex ever done to you?" 

Pete opened his mouth to reply, but Clark stopped him before he got a chance. 

"Not `What have the Luthors ever done to you?' Pete. What has _Lex_ ever done to you?" 

Pete exhaled audibly, obviously annoyed. "Jeez, man, there's no reason to get all defensive about it. I'm not required by being your friend to like everyone you do, am I?" 

Clark hung his head guiltily. "Of course not, Pete. I'm sorry," Clark apologized. "I just sometimes wish that people could take the time to get to know Lex how I do. I wish that I could find a way to make things right with Lex again. I hate that he's freezing me out like this." 

Pete sighed patiently, putting aside his own feelings for the moment to help his friend. "Have you tried talking to him?" he asked, taking his best try at sympathetic. 

"Yeah, that's gonna work," Clark said sarcastically. "And what am I supposed to say? `Hey Lex, I admit that I'm not being entirely truthful with you, but I still can't tell you what's going on because I have to keep the fact that I'm a super-strong alien freak from the world, and that includes you.'" 

"I see your point," Pete said, wincing at Clark's angry tone. "But you have to find something to tell him, if only to protect your secret. I know that I'm going to kick myself for this later, but you have to go back and talk to him. Lana's little freak-out isn't worth losing a friend over, is it?" 

"No," Clark agreed. "I just have to find a way to make Lex trust me again." 

_But_ _how_? he wondered. 

* * *

" _Opportunities_ _can_ _be_ _made_ _from_ _the_ _darkest_ _circumstances_. _Better_ _to_ _light_ _a_ _candle_ _than_ _curse_ _the_ _darkness_." 

* 

The library doors opened as a man walked through the doorway, heading straight for the young bald man sitting at the desk. His stride was purposeful; he clearly had a reason for being in the castle. It could be easily explained by the fact that he was an employee of LexCorp and the man sitting at the desk was his boss, but the box he held in his hands was clearly not usual business in the company. 

Lex Luthor smiled very slightly as he saw the man and the small box cradled carefully in his grasp, but the smile did not reach his eyes. His eyes stayed cold, steel gray and dead. The man's presence clearly pleased him in a way, but his eyes looked tortured and guilty; the exact opposite of his smile, though that was not quite a happy smile either. 

"Did you follow my instructions?" Lex asked the man in a businesslike voice, though the business had nothing to do with the company to which they both belonged. 

"To the letter, Mr. Luthor," the man replied, his tone equally businesslike, which made Lex cringe. The phrase `Mr. Luthor' made him feel so much like his father, though maybe he deserved it for what he had just done. 

"Though I had to search extensively to find a usable sample," the man continued, snapping Lex forcefully back to earth. "Still, I'm sure you will be pleased by the results. Custom cut and set just for you, although I may warn you that I angered a few people by waking them at this hour to complete the job." 

Lex nodded absently. "And you're sure the people you got for the job are trustworthy? That they'll keep quiet about this?" 

"Frankly, I'm not sure they would know what to tell, or who. I told them only what they needed to know to complete the job, which left them quite unclear about the urgency of the matter. You understand, these types of people aren't accustomed to being woken in the dead of the night to complete a job like this. A bit bewildered, they are." 

_As_ _am_ _I_ , the man added mentally, though he knew better than to press further about the matter. You always did what a Luthor wanted, no questions asked, or only God knew what could happen to you. He had learned the already, and this particular Luthor was acting rather more terse and irate than usual. He knew better than to cross Lex at a time like that. 

"Is that it?" Lex asked, motioning to the box the other man held in his hands, completely oblivious to his thoughts. He also made a mental note to give something to all the people his employee had acquired for this job for the inconvenience. There was no need to make more enemies if he didn't have to. 

The man nodded, placing the box in front of Lex on the desk. "It was equally difficult to find a box of the right material. Lead is not a common material to fashion boxes of this size out of," the man nodded as Lex lifted open the lid of the simple lead box. "I don't suppose you want to tell me why you specifically requested that the box be made of lead," he ventured, not expecting Lex to give him an answer. 

"Not particularly," Lex replied distantly, his thoughts only on the contents of the box. His smile grew a bit wider 

"I take it you're pleased with the results?" the man questioned a little nervously. 

"Extremely pleased," Lex replied, the other man beaming. "That will be all." 

Recognizing the dismissal easily, the other man nodded a quick goodbye to his boss and strode out of the room, leaving Lex alone in the library with the box and its contents that he had just delivered. 

Lex stared inside the box for a few more seconds. The black velvet lining of the box cradled a gold ring with a very peculiar green gem set into it. The gem was cut much like that of a solitary diamond ring, the light making it shine bright green onto the dark velvet. 

Carefully, Lex removed the ring from its box, quite aware of all the power that this one little stone held. Considering that it had been selected, cut, and set into the ring in the last twenty-four hours, the exquisite piece of jewelry had turned out quite well. The ring was magnificent, which was good, as Lex expected nothing less. 

Lex slid the ring onto his finger, feeling the cool metal against his skin. It was a perfect fit. After all, it had been custom made for him. Lex moved his hand back and forward slowly, watching contentedly as the meteor rock shined and sparkled in the light. 

Lex didn't feel at all guilty for what he had done. Clark was the one at fault for all of it. His lies were what made Lex act the way he was. Clark had brought this onto himself, had dug _himself_ into this hole. At least now, Lex had an extra weapon in his arsenal - just in case. 

* * *

" _It_ _takes_ _a_ _long_ _time_ _to_ _build_ _up_ _trust_ , _but_ _only_ _seconds_ _to_ _destroy_ _it_." 

* 

Lex looked up to the tentative knock on the doorframe of the library. He couldn't say that the visitor in any way surprised him. He had been expecting this visit actually; he just hadn't known the exact time that it would happen. 

"Clark," Lex said in way of a greeting, glancing back down at the book he was pretending to read and trying to appear disinterested. 

Clark bit his lip uncertainly at his friend's actions. "Umm...can I come in?" he asked, shrinking back out of the doorway as if he expected Lex to refuse. 

"The door's open, isn't it?" Lex retorted fiercely, his eyes still firmly locked on the book. 

Clark cringed, shrinking back a little more as if he had been struck. Yet his friend's angry words hurt worse than any blow. He had expected Lex's anger, but that did not make it any less painful. He hadn't even yet decided what he was going to say to try to deflect the anger, but he had sensed that if he waited any longer, Lex would shut him out completely and he would not have another chance to keep his friendship with Lex - and what ever else was developing between them - intact. Clark just hoped that he could think of the right things to say. 

Slowly, he stepped into the room. 

Clark began to shift back and forth tensely. "Lex, I was wondering if - um..." Clark began. Lex didn't even look up. Clark took a deep breath and began again, his voice a bit stronger than before. "I was wondering if...maybe we could talk?" 

Lex looked up at Clark and finally put the book facedown on the desk next to where he sat. He thought for a second how nice it would be to just immediately forgive Clark - for Clark to have his mouth on his again - but he kept his resolve. He leaned forward and clasped his fingers together in his lap to let Clark know that he now had his full attention. "All right," he said finally, "Talk." 

Clark looked down nervously for a second. He hadn't been ready for Lex to put him on the spot like that, but he knew that Lex might now give him another chance to speak. "Look, Lex, you're one of my best friends. You have been from the moment I met you, and no matter what else we are or may be some day and no matter what happens today or even in the future, I will still consider you a friend," Clark began, trying to safely edge himself into the conversation. 

"Neither our friendship nor our relationship is quite the issue here," Lex said, his voice cold. "The issue is that you lied to me." 

"Drop the bullshit and the high and mighty facade," Clark said angrily, surprising himself as well as Lex. Lex very rarely heard Clark curse at all, or insult anyone. Using both of them in the very same sentence was very out of character for Clark. Lex smiled softly to himself, trying to see what else he could bring out in Clark. 

"You act like _you're_ the perfect friend," Clark continued. "But it's not like you don't keep things from me too. And I respect that. It doesn't mean that I'm not curious or that I don't want to know, but I respect that there are things that you have to keep from me. Why can't you learn to respect that too?" 

"There is a difference between keeping secrets and lying when you are asked a direct question, Clark," Lex countered, his voice cool and emotionless. 

Clark moved closer to Lex, leaning down so that their lips were almost touching. "Believe me, Lex, you don't know how badly I wish I could tell you," Clark said. Lex could feel Clark's breath on his face and felt his stony resolve begin to crumble. "And it's not that I don't trust you. I do. Maybe I even _will_ be able to tell you one day. But right now, can't we just be together? Can't we just forget about the secrets?" 

Lex felt the last of his resolve crumble at the sound of Clark's voice, so pitiful and begging. He just wanted to give in to it, and the close proximity of Clark's body made trying to fight it even harder. 

Plus, Clark was the one who said forget about the secrets, forget about the lies. Surely, that meant Lex's as well. Surely that meant that if he was to forgive Clark, then Clark would have to forget about any of his own indiscretions that he may find out about in the future. 

About his investigation of Clark. 

His investigation of the meteor shower. 

His meteor-rock ring. 

It gave Lex an open door, and he would be damned if he wasn't going to walk through it. Even if he knew that none of it could last. 

" _Everyone_ _has_ _secrets_..." Lex said back, his voice almost a whisper. He was thinking not only of Clark's secrets as he spoke, but also of his own. Of the ring that sat in a lead box only inches from where they now sat. 

"So, are you okay with this?" 

"I think I can overlook it," Lex replied, pulling Clark toward him. "After all, you're right when you say that I'm not perfect. Plus, I _am_ always the one who is saying that I like a little mystery in my relationships." 

Clark smiled against Lex's lips as Lex pulled him into a kiss, his tongue hungrily exploring Clark's mouth. Clark straddled his lap, running his hands all over Lex's body as Lex's hands curled desperately through hair. And they both knew that things were okay between them...for the time being. 

But the carefully crafted meteor rock ring that sat in the desk next to them, shielded from Clark only by the lead box, was lying dormant for the day that Lex would feel it was needed. The ring that was such a sinister secret, waiting for the inevitable day that it would tear the two apart. It was unavoidable, though neither of them knew at the time what they would each become...or how their secrets and lies set their friendship to fail the moment that they met. 

If only they had known where the lies would lead them... 

* 

" _The_ _path_ _to_ _evil_ _is_ _a_ _journey_ , _not_ _a_ _light_ _switch_. _Becoming_ _truly_ _evil_ _is_ _achieved_ _by_ _a_ _series_ _of_ _small_ _steps_. _Sometimes_ , _we_ _do_ _not_ _realize_ _where_ _we_ _are_ _going_ _until_ _it_ _is_ _too_ _late_ ; _until_ _we_ _have_ _faded_ _so_ _far_ _into_ _the_ _darkness_ _that_ _we_ _can_ _no_ _longer_ _see_ _the_ _light_. _And_ _like_ _any_ _journey_ , _the_ _path_ _to_ _evil_ _begins_ _with_ _one_ _little_ _step_..." 


End file.
